Proverbs 30:1-17

New International Version

Sayings of Agur

30 The sayings^(A) of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.^[a]
²Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
³I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.^(B)
⁴Who has gone up^(C) to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands^(D) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters^(E) in a cloak?^(F)
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,^(G) and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

⁵“Every word of God is flawless;^(H)
he is a shield^(I) to those who take refuge in him.
⁶Do not add^(J) to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁷“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
⁸Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.^(K)
⁹Otherwise, I may have too much and disown^(L) you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’^(M)
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.^(N)

¹⁰“Do not slander a servant to their master,
or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹“There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;^(O)
¹²those who are pure in their own eyes^(P)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;^(Q)
¹³those whose eyes are ever so haughty,^(R)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
¹⁴those whose teeth^(S) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives^(T)
to devour^(U) the poor^(V) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.^(W)

¹⁵“The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,^(X)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
¹⁶the grave,^(Y) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷“The eye that mocks^(Z) a father,
that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.^(AA)

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Footnotes

Proverbs 30:1 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text utterance to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and Ukal:

Philemon

New International Version

¹Paul, a prisoner^(A) of Christ Jesus, and Timothy^(B) our brother,^(C)

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker^(D)— ²also to Apphia our sister and Archippus^(E) our fellow soldier^(F)—and to the church that meets in your home:^(G)

³Grace and peace to you^[a] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(H)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

⁴I always thank my God^(I) as I remember you in my prayers,^(J) ⁵because I hear about your love for all his holy people^(K) and your faith in the Lord Jesus.^(L) ⁶I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. ⁷Your love has given me great joy and encouragement,^(M) because you, brother, have refreshed^(N) the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

⁸Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, ⁹yet I prefer to appeal to you^(O) on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner^(P) of Christ Jesus— ¹⁰that I appeal to you for my son^(Q) Onesimus,^[b]^(R) who became my son while I was in chains.^(S) ¹¹Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

¹²I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. ¹³I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains^(T) for the gospel. ¹⁴But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced^(U) but would be voluntary. ¹⁵Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— ¹⁶no longer as a slave,^(V) but better than a slave, as a dear brother.^(W) He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

¹⁷So if you consider me a partner,^(X) welcome him as you would welcome me. ¹⁸If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.^(Y) ¹⁹I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand.^(Z) I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. ²⁰I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh^(AA) my heart in Christ. ²¹Confident^(AB) of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

²²And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be^(AC) restored to you in answer to your prayers.^(AD)

²³Epaphras,^(AE) my fellow prisoner^(AF) in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. ²⁴And so do Mark,^(AG) Aristarchus,^(AH) Demas^(AI) and Luke, my fellow workers.^(AJ)